Brandon Anderson and Gilles Gallant went over their favorite exotic futures on "The Action Network Podcast," an episode that released on Wednesday morning.
We already went over their bets for which teams will have the best and worst records in the NFL. Here, we're looking more toward the middle about which teams will simply make the playoffs. Let's break it down.
Seahawks To Make the Playoffs (+215)
Brandon Anderson: I'm simply in on the Seahawks. I love everything about this team.
Mike Macdonald is the No. 1 coaching hire from this year's cycle. He's a new CEO who provides a fresh voice from Pete Carroll.
I have the Seahawks defense ranked fifth in the NFL. The defensive line especially bulked up by adding Leonard Williams and Dre'Mont Jones, as well as getting first-round pick Byron Murphy out of Texans. Tyrell Dodson and Jerome Baker also make a strong pair of linebackers.
Importantly, Devon Witherspoon is a star at cornerback. That will be especially important facing Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay offenses.
I'm also a big fan of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who was in charge of the University of Washington offense last year that saw Michael Penix Jr. thrive. Grubb goes from Penix throwing down the field to three great wide receivers to Geno Smith throving to DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Seahawks special teams have ranked in the top eight in each of the last four season, and Jay Harbaugh (Jim's son) was hired in hopes of continuing that trend.
I have the Seahawks as my No. 6 team in the NFC. The Packers and Bears are Nos. 7 and 8, so we're just holding off a second team from the NFC South here.
Jaguars To Make the Playoffs (+120)
Gilles Gallant: I love how the Jaguars have improved their roster over the offseason. On defense, veterans DT Arik Armstead, S Darnell Savage and CB Ronald Darby were added. Offensively, obviously losing Calvin Ridley is a blow, but Gabe Davis, Devin Duvernay and first-round-pick Brian Thomas have been brought in.
Obviously, I'm high on Trevor Lawrence bouncing back with this pick. Before he got hurt last season in Week 11, the Jags were 8-3 and Lawrence only threw seven interceptions. He was completing close to 68% of passes, which would have been a career high.
In the final four games Lawrence played after his ankle injury, he was awful and threw seven more interceptions. His yards-per-attempt rate and EPA-per-play rates dropped, and the Jags lost four straight. Despite that, the Jaguars were still in the mix in Week 18.
Instead of betting them to win the AFC South at +250, I'd rather play it safe and have them simply get in the playoffs.
Bengals To Miss the Playoffs (+210)
Brandon Anderson: I was expecting this team to be the obvious worst-to-first pick for this upcoming season, but I actually have the Bengals as the third-best team in the AFC North.
I think the Bengals are still living off their "we made the Super Bowl" reputation. I have Cincinnati rated as the 14th-best offense and 18th-best defense in the NFL. I don't think Zac Taylor adds much to this offense, which is very top heavy with receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
The last three years, the Bengals offense has ranked 11th in DVOA, then fourth and 18th. The defense has gone from 23rd to 11th to 19th. There hasn't been much improvement with this team since that Super Bowl run.
The Bengals are at the Chiefs Week 2 and face Baltimore in Week 5. Playing in that division also isn't going to make for an easy trip back to the playoffs.
I have the Bengals projected for 9.7 wins and sitting eighth in the AFC. One issue for Cincinnati will be that the conference is truly loaded.
